QatarEnergy announced the signing of a definitive partnership agreement with China Petrochemical Corporation (Sinopec) for the North Field East (NFE) expansion project, the largest project in the history of the LNG industry.
The agreement was signed by Minister of State for Energy Affairs and QatarEnergy President and CEO HE Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi, and Sinopec Chairman Dr MA Yong-sheng, in a special signing ceremony held recently at QatarEnergy’s headquarters. The signing was also attended by senior executives from both companies.
The agreement marks the entry of Sinopec as a shareholder in one of the NFE joint venture companies that own the NFE project, one of the most critical projects in the global LNG industry.
Pursuant to the terms of the agreement, QatarEnergy will transfer to Sinopec a 5% interest equivalent to one NFE train with a capacity of 8 million tonnes per annum (MTPA). The agreement will not affect the participating interests of any of the other shareholders.
Deepening relationships with key LNG consumers
Speaking at the signing ceremony, HE Al-Kaabi said the event underscores QatarEnergy’s commitment to deepening relationships with key LNG consumers while prioritising long-term strategic partnerships and alignment with world-class partners from China, represented by Sinopec.
Noting the November 2022 agreement to supply Sinopec with 4 MTPA of LNG from the NFE project, Minister Al-Kaabi said the agreement was not only the first NFE LNG supply agreement to be announced, but also the longest LNG supply agreement in the history of the industry.
Sinopec is joining Qatar’s LNG family by becoming the first Asian shareholder in the NFE project.
Minister Al-Kaabi concluded his remarks by extending his thanks to the working teams in QatarEnergy and Sinopec for their dedicated work to reach the important agreement. He also thanked the Amir, HH Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, for his continued guidance and support of the country’s energy sector.
Sinopec Chairman Dr Ma Yongsheng congratulated both parties on the signing of the NFE project partnership agreement. He said that the cooperation with QatarEnergy will help Sinopec further optimise China’s energy consumption structure and enhance the security, stability and reliability of clean energy supply.
I hope that the two companies will continue to explore new LNG cooperation opportunities based on the solid foundation we have laid together and will further expand cooperation areas to achieve mutual benefit and win-win results.
The agreement is the first of its kind after last year’s series of partnership announcements in the US$28.75 billion NFE project, which will raise Qatar’s LNG export capacity from the current 77 MTPA to 110 MTPA.
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